El Paso has become one of the elite cities in the world to be part of the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities, a program that aims to come up with strategies to bounce back and survive from different kinds of catastrophes.

City officials and representatives of the 100 Resilient Cities program gathered Thursday at the University of Texas at El Paso for the inaugural workshop to develop a survival plan.

The goal of the program is to bring together government officials and business leaders, local non-profit organizations and the program's staff to develop the city's ability to maintain its basic functions in good times and bad.

For the next six to nine months, city officials will work to develop a plan.

"At the end of the strategy process, city officials will have a very comprehensive look at what steps El Paso should take to be more resilient," said Andrew Salkin, chief operating officer of 100 Resilient Cities.

William Hargrove, director of the center for environmental research and management at UTEP, said some of the key issues addressed in the application for the Rockefeller Foundation's grant are extreme weather events such as the flood in 2006, prolonged droughts and water shortages, and a potential economic downturn and population changes if Fort Bliss closes.

"We're hoping to draw on our scientific expertise here at UTEP to provide technical information, technical guidance and advice as they move forward with the project," Hargrove said.

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El Paso was one of the first 32 cities to participate in what will be a 100-city global network.

The organization's website defines resilience as "the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience."

El Paso Mayor said this could be "a great economic driver for our community."

Salkin said one of the goals when choosing the first cities to participate was to look for cities with different problems and solutions.

"When you look at it all, you (El Paso) have the water challenges that many cities face, but then at the same time you have real interesting population challenges of different types of populations living in the same place faced with a bi-national perspective," Salkin said.

"It really made for a compelling challenge," Salkin continued. "All that tied together with a sense that the city is willing to try new things, be innovate and willing to take some risks, we felt that El Paso had that courage to be a good partner."

Officials said 100 Resilient Cities will provide El Paso with four tools to develop a strategy.

It includes financial help for two years and logistical guidance to establish a new position in the city — called Chief Resilience Officer, who will lead the city's efforts.

Second, the program will provide expert support for development of a resilience strategy for the city.

Third, the program will provide access to solutions, service providers and partners from the business and public sectors and local organizations that can help the city develop and implement its resilience strategies.

Last, the city will be able to tap into the other cities worldwide to get help and offer help.